Page 28 - nhms2012 Perak

PERAK GSHS 2012 Results

3.5 Hygiene (Including Oral Hygiene)

Introduction

Dental caries a]ect between 60-90% of children in developing countries and is the most prevalent oral
disease among children in several Asian and Latin American countries. In Africa, the incidence of
dental caries is expected to rise drastically in the near future due to increased sugar consumption
and inadequate `uoride exposure (42). In Malaysia, _ndings from the recent epidemiological oral
health survey of schoolchildren in 2007 showed that 80.4% of 12 years schoolchildren and 89.4% of
16 years children have unhealthy periodontal conditions (25, 26). In addition to causing pain and
discomfort, poor oral health can a]ect children's ability to communicate and learn. More than 50
million school hours are lost annually because of oral health problems (43). In both developed and
developing countries, many children do not have access to water `uoridation or professional dental
care. Daily tooth cleaning or brushing with a `uoridated toothpaste can help prevent dental caries and
periodontal disease (44). Diarrhoeal diseases kill nearly 2 million children every year. Hygiene
education and the promotion of hand washing can reduce the number of diarrhoeal cases by 45%
(45). About 400 million school aged children are infected with worms worldwide. These parasites
consume nutrients from children they infect, cause abdominal pain and malfunction and can impair
learning by slowing cognitive development (46).

Findings

Only, 3.1% (95% CI: 1.72-5.40) of the students had brushed their teeth less than once daily in the past
30 days. A high prevalence of students reported brushing their teeth at least twice daily 81.6% (95%
CI: 77.80-84.80) reported this (Table 5.1.1). Only 52.7% (95% CI: 48.42-57.02) reported use of
`uoridated toothpaste and 33.2% (95% CI: 28.71-38.03) did not know whether their toothpaste
contain `uoride (Table 5.2). About 8.2% (95% CI: 5.41-12.22) had missed class due to a toothache in
the past 12 months (Table 5.3). Only 43.5% (95% CI: 38.21-48.99) reported that they had their last
dental visit in the past 12 months (Table 5.4). Overall, 14.4% (95% CI: 11.96-17.18) claimed that they
had avoided smiling or laughing due to the appearance of their teeth (Table 5.5). In the past 30 days,
4.5% (95% CI: 3.13-6.39) of the students never or rarely wash their hands before eating (Table 5.6).
About 4.4% (95% CI: 3.00-6.28) reported never or rarely wash their hands after using the toilet (Table
5.7). A total of 14.6% (95% CI: 12.32-17.26) never or rarely use soap when washing their hands (Table
5.8).

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